


One Last Chance

by FlamesOfCivilization (orphan_account)



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst with a Happy Ending, Death, Depression, F/M, Fix-It, Haunting, Josh needs a hug, Maybe - Freeform, Nightmares, Sam is the only survivor, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Wendigo, hopefully
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-08-27 10:50:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8398762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/FlamesOfCivilization
Summary: Sam was the only survivor of the tragedy of Mount Washington. Full of survivor's guilt and struggling to keep herself above the sea of depression threatening to drag her into its depths, she wants nothing more than to go back and change it.Except, her dream becomes a reality and suddenly Sam is back on Mount Washington on that fateful day the twins went missing. Sam is determined to save her friends this time around, no matter what. Add that to struggling with her own feelings, tension with a certain someone and the monsters on the mountain and well, someone needs to pour Sam a drink.





	1. Like a Faded Photograph

**Author's Note:**

> No copyright intended. I do not own the characters of this game or anything you recognize. 
> 
> Thanks for clicking onto this story! This is my first ever Until Dawn story and I'm definitely still feeling it out. As I am a senior in high school, my updating schedule will be sporadic at best. But I fully intend to finish this story. Please let me know what you think in the comments so I know what you feel about this story and what I should work on. Feel free to give me criticism as long as it is constructive. 
> 
> Now, onto the story!

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

 

For the past five minutes, Sam had been blankly staring at the clock as her mind travelled back to the moment she had left Josh and Mike in the mine shaft. She wondered daily what would have happened if she hadn’t left. Would Josh be alive? Would she have died in his place? ‘What if?’ questions had become a constant hum in the back of her mind over the past six months.

“Sam.”

The blonde girl returned to present time, looking up into the tired face of her psychiatrist as she attempted to look interested in what the woman was saying to her. She didn’t need to be here, or at least she didn’t think so. The only reason she had agreed to these sessions, after all, was because she couldn’t stand the way her mother was upset over how Sam was acting. It made her feel guilty, just adding to the mountain of bad feelings permanently lodged in the place where her heart should be. 

It had been six months, eight days and 5 hours since that dawn when she had stumbled out of the lodge and promptly passed out from exhaustion and pain in her shattered arm. The next thing she remembered was waking up in the hospital, sore all over and hooked up to numerous beeping machines. Only she and Mike had made it out, but his injuries were far more extensive than hers and unfortunately took his life from him only three days later. 

As the sole survivor, Sam bore not only the endless questions but also the crippling survivor's guilt. She’d lasted all of three weeks after her return to university before she’d walked out in the middle of a Political Science lecture and left. Her mother had woken up to find her daughter's belongings in the living room and the twenty-year-old curled up in a ball in her childhood bed. She didn’t eat, she didn’t talk, she didn’t do anything. If it wasn’t for the gentle rise and fall of her chest and the heartbreaking sobs that traveled through the walls of her room, Anne would wonder if her daughter had survived at all. 

It took a month before Sam would leave the house again. While she went through the motions of being alive, there was nothing behind her once brilliant eyes. It was as if her soul had died that night on the mountain and it broke Anne’s heart every day. And so the appointments were made and Sam’s arguments about not needing a shrink were silenced. In a way, the anger had been a relief. Anne hadn’t seen any emotion besides sadness in weeks.  
This was her eighth appointment with Dr. Jensen. 

While the woman was intelligent, she lacked the understanding of all Sam had gone through and often showed no sensitivity when questioning her about things. Often, Sam felt worse leaving the office than she had felt beforehand. 

“Sam, I can’t help you if you don’t try.”

Sam felt a rush of anger rush through her, heart pumping furiously. She was trying. She tried so hard and to have someone tell her she wasn’t when she didn’t know half of what really happened to her made Sam want to scream. She finally understood how Josh had felt, when instead of listening everyone had just shoved pills down his throat that had done nothing to tame the storm ripping him apart from the inside out. 

She heard her name called as she got up to leave, needing to leave before she did something rash. As she went to the leave the room, she stopped to say one last thing before leaving. 

“If you want to help me, cancel all of my future appointments. I’m done.” She said with a crack in her voice and then left the building. Tears ran down her face, hands shaking as she shoved them into her pockets and quickly walked to her car. 

Instead of going home, she drove half an hour in the opposite direction. Without even realizing where she was going, she ended up in the massive stone driveway of the Washington estate. Bob and Melinda had taken off after the three way funeral in mid February, leaving the place cold and empty like a mausoleum. Sam slowly got out of the car and walked to the tall oak beside the house, which was carved with no less than twenty sets of initials in hearts.  
Hannah and Beth, hopeful romantics, had carved the majority of them with each new crush that came along as they got older. But right in the center was the only one Sam had ever carved, after she’d spent a night listening to music with the twins older brother. 

Josh had been home when she stopped by to see the twins, not knowing they were at a sleepover. With her mom already home and no way to leave, John had let her sit on his bed while he turned on the music and joked around with her. 

Sam could clearly remember him then, fourteen years old, face youthful and alive. He’d had braces, something which Sam had loved about him. He had been a big lovable dork back then and thirteen year old Sam had idolized him. I Miss You by blink-182 had been playing and he’d sung along to the lyrics while making dramatic facial expressions and hand gestures towards her. 

“The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley  
We can live like Jack and Sally if we want  
Where you can always find me  
And we'll have Halloween on Christmas.”

The next day when the twins returned home, they were all hanging out in the backyard when Sam added her very own set of initials to the tree. J+S. Of course, Sam had been quick to say that she simply shipped Jack and Sally when Hannah questioned her on it. But she knew the truth and every time she saw it, she felt warm and happy. 

Now however, more tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at it, thin fingers trailing over the aged letters carved into the wood. A half hysterical sob escaped her throat and she covered her face as she tried to compose herself. How could Josh do that to her? She hadn’t been involved in the prank. She’d tried to stop it. She’d always thought they had a connection, so why had he come after her? She couldn’t even have a bath anymore without it sending her into a panic attack. 

At one time she would have put her life in his hands without a moment of hesitation. He’d been her most trusted confidante after the twins disappeared and even before that. He’d been her protector. He’d been the boy that Sam loved for most of her teenage years. Despite all he had done, it had still managed to be his death that hurt her the most. 

Abandoning the tree, she went to the door and peeked through the windows on either side. It looked cold and empty, but almost everything had been left behind. The Washington family had always treated her like she was family too. Melinda had said she was basically another daughter to her and had even given her a key to the place. For the first time in a year and a half, Sam used it. 

Stepping inside was like travelling into a washed out memory. It was the same house, the same furniture, but it no longer felt inviting or even like a home. It felt like a tomb, like a permanent monument to the three children that had grown up here and died too young. All the pictures were gone, along with Bob’s various awards and the thank you notes Melinda received from her favourite charities. 

Sam soon found herself sitting on Josh’s bed, though his scent was faint and had almost completely faded away since the last time he had been here. Many of his belongings remained, and Sam could almost trick herself into believing that any time now he would walk through the door and smile when he saw her here, stretched out like she belonged there. Maybe she did. Or had, rather. 

But he would never walk through that door. She’d never see his smile again, except in her memories. She held onto a sweatshirt that had been draped over the end of the bed and hugged it to her chest as she cried and let all of her pain out. 

She sat there for what felt like an eternity, finally allowing all of her grief and fear to pour out of her in waves of emotion that left her chest heaving and her throat and eyes burning with pain. 

Eventually she must have cried herself to sleep because the real world fell apart and morphed into the land of dreams. Except the days of good dreams were long past for Sam Abbott and instead she found herself surrounded by her friends, bruised and injured, accusing her of killing them. Saying that she should have died too, that she didn’t deserve to have made it out. They kept getting closer, trapping her, their voices blending together into one, loud accusing hum. Sam grabbed her head, chanting that it wasn’t her fault, over and over again as Hannah made her way to the front. In front of her eyes the girl started to change, until she was the Wendigo once more. With a lunge, she reached towards Sam.

Sam felt a ragged scream tear from her throat as hands gripped her shoulders and shook her. She shot up in the bed and almost collided with someone leaning over her. It took a minute for her to register the two foremost issues with what she was seeing.  
First off, the room she was in was definitely not Josh’s bedroom. The band posters had been replaced by butterfly decals and a big memory board. The white walls had become cream and purple, the double bed replaced with a queen size mattress with satin sheets and big fluffy pillows.

But the second thing… well, Sam almost screamed again. Because hovering over her with wide, concerned eyes and messy, sleep ruffled black hair was a very human looking Hannah Washington.


	2. Just a Dream. Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading and commenting on the last chapter! I love to hear your thoughts. Sorry for the delay, my computer had a bit of a hissy fit on me. The chapter was written entirely on my phone over google docs so please forgive any formatting errors or typos that I may have missed.

Sam slumped against the door of the bathroom, eyes wide and chest heaving with short, terrified breaths. Unable to comprehend what she had just seen, her instinct had been to run and hide. The bathroom had been the first place she had seen and thus was where she went. However, she knew that she couldn’t stay in here forever. Or perhaps she could, after all, since she must be dreaming. Right? It was just another dream. 

 

Slowly she calmed herself down and allowed her breathing to return to normal. Turning towards the mirror, she took in her appearance with sore, heavy eyes. She looked… different. She looked seventeen again. Her hair was longer, messy and thrown back in a loose ponytail. Her face was rounder, less drawn. The only thing that remained the same was her eyes, which looked dull and haunted. She lifted a shaky hand up to trace over the youthful softness of her face, breath hitching in the back of her throat as she tried to figure out what she was seeing. 

 

She’d never had a dream like this one. Her dreams of this day and the following year were always the same, one of four that rotated in the best way to taunt her in the most painful manner possible. Down in the mines, being chased by monsters that had once been her friends. Invisibly watching as the prank happened, watching and unable to do anything about what would follow. Josh… Josh in the mines, talking to someone she couldn’t see, mumbling about how much he hated her. And all of them, surrounding her, yelling at her. Mad. Accusing. 

 

She inhaled slowly and allowed herself a moment of peace as she attempted to come to grips with it all. If this was a dream, it was new. And that meant that she had no idea what was going to happen in it. She couldn’t stay here forever, she had to know. As if she wasn’t dreaming, as though it was a typical day, she slowly went about washing her face and brushing her teeth and her hair. Leaving the blonde locks loose around her shoulders, she braced herself before slowly opening the door and stepping out. Hannah was at the end of the hall, peeking out from behind her door with that same concerned look on her face. 

 

“Hannah…?” Her voice came out quiet, a bit shaky, but still audible. Her jaw trembled.

 

“Are you okay? You kind of freaked out back there.” The first born of the Washington twins said softly, stepping further into the hall.

 

“Nightmare.” Sam replied stiffly, willing away the urge to cry at seeing Hannah look so human, so normal. 

 

Hannah nodded, accepting the answer and walked up to her, wrapping her in a hug. Sam almost lost it then, eyes burning as a few tears escaped and seeped into the collar of the other girls pink Paris pajamas. When Hannah tried to pull back, Sam only held her tighter and refused to let her move. It took a solid two minutes before Sam finally let go of her and sniffled, wiping at her face. Hannah shushed her, not understanding the breakdown but just letting it happen anyways. Sam gave her a weak smile and followed Hannah back to the bedroom, getting dressed beside her in silence. 

 

Sam was floundering. She’d tried pinching herself, biting her tongue, reading the words on one of Hannah’s posters, everything; all of these things were supposed to be able to let you know if you were awake or asleep. All the ‘tests’ were saying that she was awake, and somehow that was the more terrifying thought. 

 

She was essentially on autopilot as she dressed herself, pulling on a pair of dark jeans and a red and white patterned sweater that she remembered getting the Christmas before. Currently (in the time when she had been 21), that same sweater was sitting in the back of her closet, too small to wear anymore. She straightened out the hem and pulled her loose hair back, the elastic snapping into place. She slowly followed after Hannah as she went to the kitchen, eyes darting around the lodge that had haunted her memories for a year and a half. It looked so different, the lights on and the air warm from the central heating. It seemed cheerful, as though the house itself was buzzing with life. 

 

The blonde shoved her trembling hands into her pockets, toying with the lining as they stepped into the kitchen. The sight that met her eyes made her stomach clench, eyes threatening to spill over. Josh and Chris were seated at the breakfast bar, shoving each other as Josh attempted to swallow a mouthful of whipped cream through his laughter. Sam felt a lump get lodged in the back of her throat and she fought back the slight hysteria creeping up on her. This was the last day she’d ever seen Josh truly happy. Aside from that, it caused physical pain to build in her chest just seeing him again. 

 

She had frozen in the door upon seeing him, but she was shocked out of her reverie when Josh took notice of her. “Sammy bird!” He crowed, boyish face lighting up. He’d called her that since the first time they’d met and even the sound of it again snapped her strenuous grasp on the little bit of her sanity she was still clinging to. “Josh.” She said, voice coming out weak. “Uh, good morning.” She said quickly, before turning her back to him in the guise of grabbing a bottle of water. Aside from the groceries they’d purchased for the weekend, the fridge was filled with alcohol. That only reminded her of what was going to happen tonight once the bottles had been diminished in quantity. She felt this sudden urge to just smash every bottle against the floor, get rid of the reason for all that had gone wrong.

 

She breathed out very slowly through her nose and grabbed her bottle of water, turning back to the rest of the kitchen. Josh gestured to the open seat beside him, and with her heart thudding painfully she walked open and sat down in the proffered seat. It was hard to restrain the flinch that happened when he threw his arm around her shoulders and ruffled her hair a little bit. She sipped at her water, hoping it would quell the nausea settled in the pit of her stomach. For the first time she noticed Beth, standing at the stove and flipping a pancake carefully. She was humming under her breath, swaying to whatever music she was playing on her phone. 

 

“-Earth to Sam?” Josh whispered in her ear, hot breath tickling the shell of her ear. She nearly jumped a foot off the chair, earning a loud cackle from the two boys. She placed her hand over her heart, before reaching out and abruptly smacking Josh on the arm. “Don’t do that to me!” She hissed, for a moment forgetting that there was nothing normal about this whole situation. It was so easy to fall into her old banter with him. The Josh that she considered a dear friend, not the Psycho. Not the bitter, vengeful shell of the boy she’d once known. 

 

Josh held his hands up, fake surrender style. “Sorry, Sammy. Just trying to ask if you wanted a pancake.” He teased her, eyes shining with humour. She huffed and rolled her eyes, though she was unable to hold back a slight smile at how nice it was to be able to talk to him like this. All talks between them after this day had ended up being about his sisters, his meds or his parents talking about calling off the search. 

 

Nearly an hour passed, her old friends tiredly making their way into the kitchen for breakfast. While not as painful as Josh and Hannah, seeing their faces made her heart twinge with pain as she recalled each of her friends being declared dead in the police investigation after that night. Everyone went their separate ways after that, but Sam couldn’t bring herself to leave either Hannah or Josh. While she loved Beth, Hannah was her best friend and Josh was the boy she’d loved since she was thirteen. It was them that she had missed the most and she was terrified that they would disappear if they left her sight for too long. 

 

She ended up with the three Washington siblings, Chris, and Ashley in the basement movie room watching some cheesy horror movie (they were on number three now) that Josh just nitpicked the entire time. He explained how the stunts were done, complained about the acting and the awful script and Sam enjoyed every second of it. Hearing his voice was so soothing to her. She had slowly come to accept that this was not a dream. She had no idea what it was or how it was possible, but she wasn’t dwelling on it. She was just enjoying every last second of it. If this was temporary… if she was going to just suddenly be back in her own time, she wanted to take as much of this in as possible. Throwing any type of caution to the wind, she had stretched out with her head in Josh’s lap and her feet in Hannah’s. John had smiled at her, his thumb absently rubbing over her head as the movie went on. 

 

She didn’t notice the knowing smirk that Chris made at his best friend, nor the returning scowl Josh sent back. She was so absorbed in the warmth and scent of the boy under her that she probably wouldn’t notice if the couch caught fire. Chris made little kissing motions with his lips and a heart with his hands, Josh merely raising an eyebrow and glancing at Ashley in response. Chris rolled his eyes but stopped, a faint pink tinge appearing in his cheeks. Josh smirked triumphantly, feeling as though he won the little battle of sorts. 

 

Josh didn’t know what to think of Sam’s sudden clinginess towards him. He was flattered and loving every second of it, but it was certainly unusual. Sure, she was affectionate with him but never quite to this extent. She seemed to find literally any reason to touch him and had basically been glued to his side since breakfast. He had decided to take advantage of it while it lasted, just allowing her to do whatever she wanted. 

 

Sam was a constant in his life. When things got really bad, he would call her and without even realizing it she would coax him back to reality. She was his anchor, tethering him to the ground with just a smile and soft words. He had never told her any of this, but he had a feeling that she knew. She seemed to just sense when he wasn’t doing well, she would just show up and crawl into his bed with him and not say a word, just lay beside him and listen. Her warmth, the sound of her soft breathing, was so soothing to him. 

 

It had been Sam that had held him as he cried in the hospital bed after his first failed suicide attempt. His mother had lied to everyone, including Sam, about why he was there. She told them that he had a violent reaction to a new medication and didn’t elaborate further. Only Beth and his parents really knew the truth, that he’d locked himself in the bathroom and took almost an entire bottle of his anti-psychotics. Beth, somehow knowing something was wrong, had picked the lock and found him on the ground. If she hadn’t been so quick and triggered his gag reflex to make him throw up the pills while she waited for the ambulance, the attempt probably would have been successful. 

 

Sam had thought he was just scared after the ‘reaction’ and he could never bring himself to tell her otherwise. He didn’t want her to look at him different. 

 

Two weeks later, he had watched as his sisters helped Sam get ready for the Junior dance, which she would be attending with a senior named James Price. She had looked so beautiful that night, with her hair in loose curls and a sparkling blue dress hugging her lithe body, that for the first time he’d been forced to accept that his feelings for the blonde were far from platonic. When James showed up to pick up Sam, Josh had felt jealousy burning in his chest watching them talk. When they left, he had audibly growled and swept a vase off a nearby table in anger, ignoring his sister’s stunned looks as he turned and escaped up the stairs. 

 

Josh snapped back to the present as the movie came to a close, the credits rolling past at a speed far too quick to bother reading even if he had cared to know anything about the production crew. He glanced down at Sam, only to see her closed eyes flutter open. She smiled at him, but there was something else there, something he recognized all too well from looking at his own reflection each morning. Hiding behind her eyes was fear and sadness, something which terrified him to see in his Sammy. The thought of her going through half of what he did made his heart ache. He trailed gentle fingers through her hair, moving his hand a minute later so that she could get up. He glanced at the clock as the bell tolled. Eight o’clock. Josh grinned a little and wiggled his eyebrows at the group. 

 

“You fuckers ready for some fun?” He drawled, grabbing a bottle of fine whiskey from the cabinet on the wall and raising it with a small laugh.


	3. Change

Sam felt as though the sight of the bottle alone had ripped out the bottom of her stomach. This was coming too fast. It was eight, which meant that she had six hours to figure out a plan before Hannah and Beth would repeat the cycle and go missing. She couldn’t fail them. Not again. 

 

Based on her memories of last time, they didn’t actually start drinking until 9:30. If she was right, the plan for the prank happened about two hours after that and she had been too tipsy to do much more than reprimand them for the idea. She’d failed to stop it from happening. She felt her heart thudding slowly behind her ribcage as she followed her friends back towards the kitchen. 

 

At this point in time, Matt and Jess were fairly new to the friend group. Emily and Jess had been best friends since they were kids, but Jess had never really taken to Emily’s other friends except for Beth until about three months before. Sam had a feeling that had to do with meeting Mike. Even though Jess had known her best friend was dating SP Michael Munroe by the time she met him, it was as clear as glass that she was infatuated with him from day one. The only ones oblivious to this were Mike and Emily themselves. 

 

Matt had met Beth when she interviewed members of the senior football team for the school paper. He’d flirted endlessly with her at first, until Beth had mentioned her boyfriend and they settled into some kind of weird, playful friendship instead. She had invited him over to hang with them a week later, and he’d been with them for the last four months. 

 

When they entered the kitchen, everyone else was already in there. Music was playing from a Bluetooth speaker on the counter and people were clumped into little groups. Jess, Emily, and Matt waved Beth over and she quickly went to join them, Josh and Chris also splitting from them to hang out with Mike, who had his back against the counter and was nursing a bottle of beer quite slowly. Sam rolled her eyes a little as Josh snuck up on Mike and tapped his bottle when he took a sip, causing him to cough at the sudden mouthful. Mike glared playfully and shoved his shoulder in response. 

 

The difference that a year could make was astounding. To think that in one year, they would have two gaping holes in their friend group was bad enough, but Emily and Jess would be bitter rivals, Matt wouldn’t be talking to Jess either, siding with his then girlfriend, Josh would hate Mike more than any of the others despite the previous closeness they’d had and Sam would be left without anyone to really confide in. She was determined to change all of it, to avoid the loss, grief and hatred of the next year. 

 

Sam tuned out the conversation that Ashley and Hannah were engaged in over their new romantic comedy in the theatres at this time, instead mentally making a plan. First, she would try to stop the prank from being planned at all and if she couldn’t manage that, she’d basically glue herself to Hannah’s side and never let her read the note or go to meet Mike. Sam nodded to herself a little and took a deep breath as she settled on her plan. She prayed with every bit of her heart that this would work. She couldn’t live through losing Hannah and Beth again. 

 

The next few hours passed in a blur of music and chatter. Sam hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, which led to Josh sarcastically asking her if she was pregnant. While everyone else at the table laughed at the little joke, Josh had a serious glint in the back of his dark eyes that quickly made her shake her head. “No. I just don’t feel like drinking.” She assured him, confused by the relief that settled in his face even as he tried to play it off with humour. Where had that come from? She shook it off and watched carefully as the game of Never Have I Ever resumed. She played along, taking a shot of coke in place of alcohol with each turn she’d done. 

 

Next up was Beth. She hummed and grinned as something came to mind. “Never have I ever… gone to third base in a car.” Sam felt a little better about taking her shot when more people joined in. Emily, Mike, Josh and Hannah also took a shot. When Josh noticed his little shy sister taking the shot, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head and a sound not unlike a growl rumbled in his chest. No one bothered to hide their surprise, even Mike staring at Hannah like she’d just admitted to streaking in broad daylight. Sam had known about this already of course, Hannah told her everything. 

 

Hannah turned scarlet and looked down at the table, Sam giggling a little and rubbing her shoulder. After the little hiccup, the game returned to normal once more. Sam let herself have a little fun, but overall kept her mind on what she needed to do tonight. She couldn’t let herself get too distracted or everything would go wrong. 

 

Another hour drained by and Hannah had gone to the washroom. This is when the plan for the prank had been hatched. Emily was the one to joke about it last time, but Sam tried to stop it. When Emily opened her mouth to talk, Sam quickly spoke so that Emily’s words would be lost. “So, anyone have plans for spring break?” It was the first thing she could think of, but it worked for now. Emily looked peeved at being cut off, but Sam tried to look oblivious to doing it. Jess, bless her, quickly took the bait. “I get to go to Hawaii. I can’t wait. I could really use a break from the cold.” Sam tried to stifle a laugh. They were from California, what cold? Sure it was cold here, but they were only here for a few days. 

 

Luckily though, the trick worked. After Jess’ comment, the conversation had turned entirely to plans for the break. Sam knew it wasn’t going to be that easy though. Sam had to make sure that Emily didn’t just change the subject again at some other time. She knew Emily was stubborn and that she often said what she wanted anyways, and that scared her. She reminded herself that even if this still went wrong, she did have a backup plan. Stick to Hannah. Keep Hannah safe. 

 

Sam breathed a sigh of relief when her friend returned from the bathroom. It’s not like they’d plan the prank in front of the girl. She was safe for now. Sam instinctively reached out and slipped her hand into Hannah’s, giving it a squeeze. She had to keep reminding herself that this was real, that she wasn’t hallucinating. She gave the girl a half smile and then let go, returning to the conversation at hand. Josh had moved to the breakfast bar at this point and somewhere along the line had passed out with his cheek to the cool wood. 

 

Not everything was changing then, but she was certainly managing to alter some events. After all, last time the prank was already in motion by this time. This was an improvement for sure. Sam felt a relieved look touch at her lips, and she tried to school her face to hide it. It wouldn’t make sense to anyone else if they noticed it. At this point, she herself needed to use the restroom but was refusing to leave the room just in case. Especially since Hannah was away from the table putting together snacks for everyone at Emily’s suggestion. Sam had a bad feeling about why Emily had tried to get her away from the table and she was back on guard instantly. That bad feeling only intensified when she noticed Emily staring at Mike with her lips pursed, watching as his eyes followed Hannah into the kitchen. 

 

“Ugh. Can she be any more obvious?” She hissed lightly, eyes narrowing a bit. “She’s basically throwing herself at Mike.” 

 

Mike glanced back at his girlfriend with furrowed eyebrows, giving her an unimpressed look.

 

Sam fought the urge to glare at Emily. “She can’t help it. Leave her alone, Emily. You weren’t exactly much better before you and Mike got together.” 

 

Emily turned her glare to Sam but didn’t say anything, clearly seeing there was no argument to that. 

 

Sam simply stared back, arms crossed. This time, Jess didn’t do what she had done before. She was oddly quiet, looking back and forth between her two friends. Last time, she’d suggested making Hannah realize Mike just wasn’t into her. Maybe the hour difference had changed in that Jessica was more drunk this time around and not exactly brimming with ideas. Or maybe that wasn’t it at all. Sam had no real point of reference here. It wasn’t every day that you got dropped in the past with the lives of seven people riding on your shoulders. Eight if you included the Wendigo hunter that would die because of them in a year if this all went south. 

 

Sam breathed out slowly. Calm down, don’t stress yourself out. You’ll be no good to anyone if you’re frazzled from too much stressing. She repeated this little mantra of sorts to herself a few times, letting it soothe her nerves and settle the pit of nausea in her stomach. The throbbing in her temple began to ebb away and she breathed out. 

 

Emily was just sitting quietly, face pinched and arms crossed over her chest. Sam would be relieved when they all went to bed, because then it was sealed that Hannah would be okay. At least, for the rest of this trip. They would be okay. She just needed to keep the train on the tracks for a few more hours. 

 

***

 

That wasn’t as easy as it sounded. It seemed like every time Hannah left the table, Emily grew a little more insistent and bitter with her comments. Sam had to keep doing major damage control and it was getting exhausting. Instead of two hours, it felt more like she’d been sitting here for two days. She could have cried with relief when Hannah admitted she was tired and decided to turn in for the night. Sam quickly joined suit as the others began to disperse, following Hannah back to her room with slumped shoulders and a face tight with exhaustion. 

 

She didn’t know if she could keep this up for a few days before they left.

 

She lay awake in bed, unable to sleep until the alarm clock announced it was three AM. Hannah would have been in the mines by now if she hadn’t been here. But Hannah was instead asleep beside her, breathing softly. 

 

Sam allowed that thought to guide her to sleep.


	4. The Calm Before The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Yeah, I suck. It's been four months since I've updated this story. i don't really have an excuse, but I want to thank anyone who stuck by this story in it's long hiatus. 
> 
> With school and home related stress, I honestly just didn't have the motivation to sit down and type out a chapter. 
> 
> But alas, here is an update. I haven't written properly in a while, so forgive me if the quality is sub-par. I have to slowly get used to writing again before the length and quality will improve. 
> 
> I love you guys, 
> 
> XX

Sam didn’t sleep long. 

She awoke to see the clock flashing the time in painfully bright scarlet, burning 6:46 into her eyes. She had the strangest feeling that someone was watching her, the hair on the back of her neck was straight up and she had the feeling of eyes aimed at her back.

She swallowed, unable to help the initial flash of a bald head with torn cheeks and long, shark like teeth. But there was no way a wendigo was in the room, they tended to arrive with more screeching and less soft breathing. She reminded herself of that fact as much as she could. She closed her eyes again, quieting her own breathing by a few notches so that she could hear. 

She could hear soft, rhythmic breathing belonging to the sleeping girl in the other bed, but there was also a deeper breathing pattern that was not rhythmic enough to suggest sleep. It took a minute of laying there, listening and breathing and pretending she was asleep before soft, sneaking footsteps approached the side of her bed. Her heart was pounding, mouth dry and hands trembling where they were clasped by her stomach; she was getting ready to jump out of the bed and run. Old habits and triggers die hard. 

She had to physically fight a gasp as the bed dipped beside her, whoever it was just a few inches away. Sam remained quiet, kept up the pretense of sleeping as her heart sped up again. But then a scent reached her nose, one that was familiar in a way that ignited a deep burning in her chest. Masculine but soft, a mixture of vanilla and sandalwood and spice that had the ability to bring an exact face to mind. \

Josh. 

His breathing sounded strange, a bit strangled, as though he had just been scared terribly and was recovering from the shock. Sam didn’t know whether to slowly ‘awaken’ or if she should stay asleep. Why had he come in here? 

Sam was surprised when a warm, slightly trembling hand suddenly brushed a bit of hair from her face and she hoped the slight spasm of her mouth wasn’t too obvious to him. A quiet, slow sigh escaped her mouth without her permission when his fingers brushed her cheek, and she felt him stiffen. Sam shifted around a little and then stopped moving again, allowing her face to relax into a form of a peaceful expression. 

She heard him let out a slow breath, probably in relief that he thought she wasn’t awake. He sat there in silence for ages, every now and then she’d feel him run his fingertips through the ends of her hair. She had to admit that it felt nice, even if she didn’t understand why he had come in here. Slowly, the feeling was drawing her into a sleepy haze. 

Just as she thought she would fall asleep for real, the hand was withdrawn. The bed shifted and Josh seemed to have twisted his body a little. Then came a new feeling, a gentle brush of lips against the crown of her head. For some reason, that gentle action made her eyes sting with tears. She tried to keep them at bay, at least until he left. 

The bed creaked quietly as Josh stood and walked to the door, footsteps as quiet as before as he left and slowly shut the door. Sam breathed out shakily, moving her hands upwards to wipe at her eyes, turning around in the small bed to stare at the door he’d left from. She could still feel the ghost of his hands, the feeling of his warm breath on her head. 

Sam stared at the ceiling for a good hour after he left before her exhausted mind forced her back into some semblance of sleep. 

It was four hours later that she awoke properly, once again to someone standing over her and gently shaking her. A little smile touched her lips as she opened her eyes, expecting to see Hannah again. However, she was instead met with Josh, whose intense eyes were locked on hers and he was smiling. She startled slightly as a blush spread over her cheeks. 

She’d had a strangely realistic dream that night, involving those same dark eyes and lips pressed to her head. Whatever had happened this morning had made its way into her dreams in a bizarre yet intriguing way.

“Hey, Josh.” She said awkwardly with a half giggle, waiting for him to stand back up so that she could sit up without headbutting him.

“I was sent to wake you up because Han didn’t want to un-burrito herself on the couch.” Josh grinned at her, but there was some sort of weary curiosity lingering behind his eyes. As he ran a hand over his opposite arm, she flashed back to his fingers running through her hair. She so desperately wanted to ask him what he had been thinking about, but she knew he would be embarrassed and would probably shut her out if he realized she had been awake. 

“Well, good morning.” She said softly, ignoring the age-old flutter in her stomach. It was hard not to slip back into her old way of reacting to him when he was still the way he used to be. Without Hannah and Beth going missing and him refusing his meds, he was the guy that she’d known for years. 

Josh started to say something and then cut himself off, eyebrows momentarily furrowing before he forced his face into a smooth, carefully blank expression. “I’ll let you get up and dressed. See you downstairs, Sammy.” Sam watched him leave again before crawling out of bed, giving herself a minute of composure being picking out her clothes for today. She ducked out of the room and made her way to the washroom to shower. 

When she had showered, dried her hair and moisturized, she took her time slipping into her clothes for the day. She was a little more relaxed today, she had avoided the trouble from last night and it would be easier to keep everything on the right track today. It had to be. 

Sam looked herself over in the mirror, still disconcerted by her face. The difference that the years and trauma had made was astounding. Her face was smooth, pale skin unmarked by the scars that had littered her face from the explosion of the cabin and the shards of burning wood that had floated down like hellish snowflakes. 

She was dressed simply, in a pair of thick, black leggings lined with fleece and a grey cotton V-neck shirt, with grey running shoes on her feet. She’d had enough experience that last winter in this lodge of how much it sucked to try and run barefoot in a towel, she couldn’t imagine running in a skirt would be much simpler. 

Was it bad that she was planning for running for her life? If things went to plan, they would get the hell out of the lodge with everyone intact physically and mentally. Hopefully, her friends could continue to live without ever seeing one of those horrible monsters.

She ran a brush through her hair, deciding to leave it down today instead of putting it up in her usual ponytail. She didn’t feel like putting in the effort to pull it up neatly. When left down, it reached just an inch or two past her shoulders.

Sam left the bathroom, slipping her charged phone into the little liner pocket of her leggings built into the waistline. She hummed a little as she made her way down the stairs and out to the kitchen, where around half the group was milling about lazily. Boxes of cereal were scattered over the counters and the table, their primary breakfast food for the weekend. Josh gave her his signature crooked smile as she entered the kitchen and she gave him a tentative smile back. Sometimes she still struggled to disconnect future Josh from past Josh. She was trying though. 

Emily was slumped over at the table, hiding her eyes from the sunlight streaming through the blinds. Sam felt a sort of vindictive pleasure jolt through her, but quickly tried to quash it. Emily may be a total bitch at times, but she had her redeeming moments. Sam made her way to the cabinets and grabbed a bowl, filling it with milk and carrying it over to sit by Josh. 

“That’s just wrong.” He stated, making a face at her as she poured her cereal on top of the milk. 

“You’re seriously going to judge my cereal habits?” She asked dryly, raising an eyebrow at him as she gently pushed the cereal beneath the surface of the milk. 

“When you eat cereal like that I will.” He rolled his eyes, poking her in the side of the ribs. Sam laughed, jerking away from his hand at the sudden ticklish feeling. 

Breakfast passed otherwise uneventfully, though Sam noticed that Josh’s gaze was lingering on her a little longer than he normally might. Every single time she caught him staring, she’d blush and he’d look away. There was this stranger curtain of tension between them that Sam didn’t remember from before. Maybe that was because of her now, her constant need to reassure herself that he was alive. That he was here. That he was still sane. 

Later on in the day, when the sun had reached it’s highest point in the sky, they were sitting around the living room of the lodge. Emily and Mike were strangely distant, sitting much further from each other than was normal. Hannah kept glancing between the two, something akin to hopefulness lingering behind her eyes. Sam felt bad for her, because she understood what it was like to be in love with a friend. 

Jess was being her usually bubbly self, chattering Matt’s ear off about her plans for when she returned home after this weekend. Apparently, her fathers wedding was coming up and she had to go get a dress since she was going to be a bridesmaid. 

This sense of normalcy was nice. The last time she’d lived this day, they’d spent the entire day and night searching the mountain for the twins, along with the police and volunteers from the town closest to the mountain. But Beth was alive, calmly typing on her laptop in the corner. And Hannah, sitting on the couch, was lucky to just be pining over Mike instead of being injured and disoriented down in the mines. 

Everything was good. 

She should have known that it wouldn’t last.


	5. Remember When?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam has a flashback to high school. The storm is brewing on Mount Washington in the present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is mostly a filler chapter for now, because I was having a bit of writers block. Enjoy a flashback into Josh and Sam's past, which Josh being her saviour after a particularly shitty experience at a school dance. 
> 
> Warning - Non-Con groping and kissing. Not too graphic. No rape, I couldn't do that to Sam if I wanted. 
> 
> Please let me know of any mistakes you notice, I don't have a beta so this story is completely unedited.

Sam had allowed herself to get too comfortable in this peaceful, lethargic normalcy. 

The hours had passed comfortably, sitting around and watching movies again. This time however, Jessica had talked them all into some cheesy romantic comedy rather than the horror films of the night before. Josh and Chris talked throughout the duration of the film and Sam found herself looking at Josh more than the screen. Who could blame them, really? The movie was a special kind of terrible. 

She was still trying to work through the events of this morning. Physical affection wasn’t entirely uncommon between them so that wasn’t what plagued her. It was the fact that he’d come in at four in the morning, that he’d sat there, skittish and ready to flee if she woke up. Like a kid doing something they knew they shouldn’t. What had it all meant? She was so confused. 

She craved the contact of the day before. The casual affection, the simplicity of things. Simplicity. That was kind of hilarious considering yesterday she’d woken up in the past. Nothing was simple anymore, but yesterday it had been easy enough to play pretend, sitting there in the dark with her head on Josh’s lap and his fingers in her hair. It had been comfortable. 

Her train of thought slowly pulled a memory to the front of her mind, one that had led to the two of them in much the same position; the first time Sam had had her heart broken. 

***

Sam prided herself on not being like most sophomore girls. She wasn’t giggly and boy obsessed, instead using her stubborn nature to be the best she could be in everything she put her mind to. But typical girl or not, she’d always dreamed of going to the dance with a cute boy that looked at her like she was the only person in the room. 

She had met James Price for the first time at the school carnival, which they held every year to raise money for the dance. The dance was something she was excited for, but also dreading. Most girls had been asked by now and Sam had finally dropped her hopes of getting asked. She’d basically accepted just going with Hannah, who was third wheeling her twin already. And what did that make her, if she was tagging along with the third wheel?

The day of the carnival, Sam found herself running the bean bag toss instead of going around the carnival and playing the games. She was okay with it, honestly. She wasn’t a carnival games type of girl. James was senior, captain of the lacrosse team and the guy pretty much any girl would kill to talk to. 

He’d come up to the stand a few minutes previously, arms crossed over his chest as he waited for the girl in front of him to finish her attempt. Sam couldn’t help but laugh as she watched him, because he made exaggerated motions of disappointment each time the girl missed. He silently pretended to cheer when she finally got one in, sending Sam a wink when he noticed her staring. 

Sam had turned quite pink, because guys hadn’t really flirted with her before this openly, and certainly not one as cute as James. James was tall and lean, with neatly parted black hair and green eyes that held a playful glint. He had a sharp jaw and a thin mouth that wouldn’t have suited most guys, but gave him a mischievous look that only added to his charm. 

“Starting to think I’d have to wait forever for her to hit the target.” He grinned as he approached the carnival table, that confident swagger in his walk making her feel like he was someone important. Sam shook her head a little, “That’s not very nice.” She teased, surprised by the slight flirty tone she had. 

“You’re completely right. I’ll admit, I was a little impatient to get here. I usually don’t play these kinds of games, but when one of the prettiest girls around is in charge, I can be persuaded.”

He’d flirted relentlessly the entire time he took his turn, going nice and slow to draw out his time at the attraction. Sam was so flustered by this that she didn’t notice his friends a few feet away, laughing as they watched. 

That night, Sam had gone home clutching the stuffed animal he’d won as a prize after sinking 7 of his 10 bean bags, which he had given to her shortly before asking if she would be his date for the dance. For the next week, Sam had felt like she was walking on air, feeling her skin tingle every time he flashed a smile at her in the hallway. 

The week seemed to drag on endlessly except for the last two days before the dance, in which Sam had bought her dress and decided to have Hannah and Beth help her get ready. That night, Sam had stood in front of the mirror after they were finished, completely surprised at what she saw. Sam didn’t see herself as extremely pretty, she was simply average. Just another tan blonde. But the blue brought out her complexion and whatever Beth had done to her hair when she curled it made it absolutely gleam under the lights. A little mascara and nude lip gloss enhanced her features without being too over the top, and her silver strappy heels gave her the little bit of height her growth spurt had yet to help along. 

 

When James had picked her up in his gleaming black mustang, Sam had felt butterflies all through her body. The dance had passed like a dream, James was a total gentleman. Around two hours in though, his hands had started travelling lower during dances. She’d been a bit uncomfortable, but hadn’t sad anything until his hands had slipped under her dress to travel up. 

 

“Wh-what are you doing?” She hissed, eyes wide as she glanced around. There were teachers everywhere. James had just laughed. “Come on, don’t be a prude. I wasn’t doing anything bad.” 

The word ‘prude’ had made her flush in embarrassment. She wasn’t being a prude, right? Just because she didn’t want… 

 

Either way, he kept his hands in an appropriate place after that. However, he didn’t look at all interested in being here anymore. 

 

It was when they were leaving that everything went wrong. 

In the darkened hallways, James had suddenly pressed her against the lockers and leaned in to kiss her. She’d been too surprised to stop him, and barely even registered her first kiss until it was over. But he wasn’t done. He’d leaned in again, his hand travelling down her waist and circling around to rest on her ass. Sam had tried to pull away, but he was having none of it, his lips trying to force hers to move. She tried to wiggle away, alarm bells going off in her head. 

“James, stop-“ she tried to get out, but it was muffled and barely legible. She was starting to feel a little scared now, his actions only getting more pushy by the minute. She could feel something hard pressing roughly against her thigh and it made her feel sick, she didn’t want to be here. Tears welled in her eyes. 

 

“Stop resisting Sam, you know you want it.” He’d growled, his previously charming face now twisted into something menacing in the dark shadows. 

 

“No! Get away from me!” She cried, wiggling to get free again. Eventually, she managed to free her leg from being pinned against the locker and jammed her knee into his crotch. She’d watched his gasp in pain and stumble back, but hadn’t stopped long enough to care. 

Finally free, she’d taken off running down the hall and out into the school parking lot. 

It was only then that she realized that she had no way to get home. With trembling hands, she’d dialed the first number she could think of. 

 

“Josh? Can you- can you please pick me up?” 

The drive back had been silent after she’d convinced Josh not to go after James. She’d never seen him so furious, red faced and white knuckled. He’d looked nearly unhinged. But when they had gotten back to his place, he’d taken her up to his room and his face had softened into the boy she knew as she cried and curled into him. 

 

Sam had fallen asleep an hour later, his fingers in her hair and her head on his lap. He didn’t even care that she’d gotten mascara all over his light grey sweatpants. 

***

“-down to the other cabin. As if it’s not painfully clear why he wanted it.” Jessica rolled her eyes, talking to Josh as she walked into the room. Sam stiffened, sitting up and looking at her. A sense of foreboding washed down the column of her spine. “What was that?”

“Oh, just Mike and Emily.” Sam noticed the bitter undertone to her voice on the two names, but she wasn’t worried about that. Jealousy aside, what had they done? “Apparently whatever fight they had is done. Mike asked Josh for the key to the other cabin for some privacy.” She sniffed, looking a little sulky. 

Sam felt her blood run cold. No. Nobody was supposed to leave the cabin, not this close to nightfall especially. As if it was right beside her, Sam heard the shriek of a Wendigo and felt her breathing pick up. “They can’t be out there!” She blurted, getting to her feet as a bit of panic seeped into her tone. 

Josh merely raised an eyebrow, non-verbally asking for an explanation while also giving her a mildly concerned look.

Sam fought for an explanation, before settling on something. “There’s been reports of wolves by the village people that go hiking. They are oddly active for this time of year and they have attacked humans.” She said quickly, “They can’t be out there walking alone, I-“

Josh gave her what seemed to be a placating expression, but it didn’t help at all. “Sammy, I’m sure they’ll be just fine together, if they-“

Sam shook her head, brushing past him in the hallway despite his call of her name. “Sammy, where are you going?” 

The next half an hour blurred past. Sam acted as though on autopilot, her actions seemingly controlled by someone else as she threw on a jacket and her boots. The next thing she was fully aware of was jogging through the snowy forest, little ice flakes catching in her hair and eyelashes. The cold, whistling wind stung her face but she ignored it in favour of following the footsteps. 

 

That’s when she heard the scream ring out, echoing through the trees.


End file.
